Before I write this review, I have to say something that’s extremely trivial, but interesting to me about the town of Honesdale. I’ve spent some months working in Honesdale back in the day, and I recently returned to do a pizza review, but the thing that fascinates me about this place is – THE CROSSWALKS. The what you say?! Yes, the crosswalks are what are so interesting to me and I’ll tell you why. Every time I’ve ever been to Honesdale, I’ve had to cross a street at some point, and drivers in Honesdale abide by crosswalk laws like no other place I’ve ever seen! Now, before you call me crazy picture your hometown. Maybe cars generally stop for people in the crosswalk, but it’s almost never the first car and there’s always a person or two who puts the blinders on and pretends he didn’t see the pedestrian waiting to cross – you know what I’m talking about. Honesdale is totally different…drivers will literally lock up their brakes to allow someone that they think will cross the road to do so. This is always the case, and if there is a violator of this rule, it has to be an out of town driver. Before checking out Elegante as I set out to, I ran a small test. Even though I parked on the same side of the street as Elegante, I decided to cross the road twice to get there to see what happened. Sure enough, cars went out of their way to jam the brakes and stop for me! I even watched about 10 other groups of people cross the road successfully and without the slightest bit of delay because I was simply amazed at how polite and responsible Honesdale drivers were! So maybe Old Forge is the self-proclaimed pizza capital of the world, but I’m proclaiming Honesdale the “Crosswalk Capital of the World.” <Enter the sarcasm> I’m sure they’d be very proud that I guy that writes about pizza for fun holds their crosswalk etiquette in such high regard.
So on to my review of Elegante, a place which I’ve visited several times before, but not in the last 5 years. Honesdale has several pizza joints to pick from, none of which did I remember to be particularly great (and there might be new places), but I do remember Elegante having the best of the litter when I was eating around town. I stopped in expecting to grab a pie to dine in with but the huge dining room was jam packed with people eager to eat, which told me this was the place to be! I was on a time budget as usual so I had to order slices. Luckily there were fresh Sicilian and New York Style slice pies in the display case, so I ordered one of each to try. The pizza guy thankfully reheated the slices thoroughly. Surprisingly enough, many places don’t reheat their slices properly and it’s a pet peeve of mine, so kudos to Elegante for getting this right!
After grabbing my thoroughly heated slices, I weaved through the people waiting for a table and headed back to the pizza mobile to try out the product. When I opened the box, I immediately noticed that the New York Style slice had a kink in the crust which meant that the dough was not stretched evenly and I was going to have trouble picking this slice up. After getting it to my mouth, I gave it a taste and I sought something to jump out to me – a flavor, a texture, a smell – something. The pizza was pretty good, but nothing really stuck out to me. The crust was average to above average, the sauce was decent, and the cheese was pretty good. This was the quintessential mid-range pizza that you would find in any mall or strip-mall. Don’t get me wrong, the pizza worked, and it was a good pizza for a rural area, but it just didn’t have the wow factor.
Next it was time to try the Sicilian slice, which looked more appetizing with its thick crust and nicely melted cheese. I picked it up and noted how fluffy the crust was with a fairly nice bubble pattern. It was consistent and crispy, which I appreciated. The sauce was the same sauce that was on the NY slice – pretty neutral and moderately seasoned. The cheese also was the same, but the oregano sprinkled on top did add a little extra flavor, which was welcomed. Overall, I would say I liked the Sicilian better than the New York style, but both were decent and certainly a mid-range pie that I would imagine is wildly popular in a rural area. It was pretty evident that most people think very highly of this pizza judging by the lines of people just waiting to get in on a normal weeknight. The pizza is consistent, they provide good service, and most people I’ve talked to say that Elegante has the best pizza in Honesdale. I won’t disagree with those people, so for these reasons Elegante is NEPA Pizza Review approved if you are looking for a pie in Honesdale. And when you head there for a pizza, rest easy knowing that you will be able to cross the street safely!
Restaurant: Elegante
Location: Honesdale, PA
Date: October 2013
Pizza Ordered: New York Slice, Sicilian Slice
Eat In/Take Out: Take Out
Sauce: 2.75/5
Cheese: 3/5
Overall Taste: 3/5
Crispy/Cooked Properly: 4/5
Overall Value: 3.5/5
OVERALL RATING: 3.25/5
Similar to: Antonio’s, Gourmet Slice, Domenick’s, Pompei’s
